Lantern bracket



N O B L L A M D LANTERN BRACKET Filed May 3, 1949 Patented May 27, 1952 LANTERN BRACKET Thomas D. Mallison, Dallas, Tex.

Application May 3, 1949, Serial No. 91,166

Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in lantern brackets.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved bracket for supporting an ordinary lantern at various angles of inclination, whereby the light rays from one side thereof may be directed downwardly.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bracket having a fulcrum member for supporting the base of a lantern and means engageable by the lantern bail to suspend the body of said lantern at various angles of inclination, so arranged that should the bail become disengaged from the body of the lantern or broken, the fulcrum member will maintain its engagement with the base of the lantern and hold said lantern from falling off of the bracket.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved adjunct to night fishing or gigging, whereby a lantern may be suspended so as to overhang the side of a boat at various angles of inclination to cast light rays down into the water and so arranged, that should the bail by which the lantern is suspended, break or become disengaged from the body of the lantern, said lantern will be supported and prevented from falling into the water.

' A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view showing in elevation, a lantern supported on a bracket constructed in accordance with the invention, secured on the sideboard of a boat, which latter is shown in section, with a portion of the base of the lantern in section to illustrate its mounting on the bracket; adjusted positions of the lantern being indicated in dotted lines,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the bracket,

Fig. 3 is a partial front elevation of the bracket engaged in the base flange or rim of the lantern which is shown in section,

Fig. 4 is a detail in transverse section showing a portion of the bracket and a portion of the base of the lantern engaged thereon in the position the lantern would occupy upon breaking or disconnection of the lantern bail, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the elements shown in Fig. 3.

In the drawings, the numeral l0 designates generally the body of the bracket which is preferably made in the form of a flat plate. The plate has a depending front hanger ll provided at its lower end with a foot 12. At the rear end of the plate or body a depending shank I3 is provided and this shank has a short, transverse barrel or sleeve Hi integral with its lower end and in ternally screw-threaded. The elements H and I3 coacting with the remainder of the plate produce a yoke shaped body which may be referred to enerally as a yoke.

At the rear of the foot I 2 and on the inner side v of the hanger H a transverse shoe I5 is provided. This shoe may have its outer ends and underside rounded, if desired, but may be of any suitable shape. wardly extending transverse crowhead I6 is attached. It is pointed out that the plate In,-

hanger H, shank I3, sleeve M, shoe [5 and crowhead [6 may be made in one piece, or in several pieces properly secured together, so as to provide an integral structure and the invention is not to' be limited to any particular fabrication of the parts.

An ordinary clamp screw I1 is engaged in the sleeve 14 with its inner end directed toward the medial portion of the shoe [5 and provided with a suitable head! on its outer end wherebyit. may be rotated. In using the bracket it is en-' gaged over the sideboard A of a boat B as is shown in Fig. 1, the shoe l5 engaging the outer side of the upper edge portion of said sideboard and the screw ll being rotated to clamp against the inner side of sideboard. It will be observed that the upperv edge of the body plate I0 is disposed at an inclination so that when the bracket is mounted on the boat as is shown in Fig. 1, its upper edge will be substantially horizontal. The upper edge portion of the plate is provided with a plurality of J slots 19, three of such slots being shown in spaced order with the first slot adjacent the front edge of the plate.

The crowhead I6 is formed with upwardly and oppositely directed fingers or horns 2|] and constitutes a fulcrum member. The ordinary lantern, as is shown in Fig. 1. has a base C and a bail D hinged to its body indicated generally by the letter E. The base of the lantern is formed with an inwardly rolled flange or rim F under its bottom G. The rim F is open so that the horns 20: may be engaged thereover as is shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The upper ends or tips 2| of the horns may be bent inwardly so as to give a hook effect when the rim F is engaged thereon.

In Fig. 1 the bail D is shown in dotted lines in On the forward end of the foot [*2 an up- I 3 the first J-slot 10, whereby the lantern also shown in dotted lines, is supported at its lowest angle of inclination in its intended use. The bail is also shown in engagement with the other slots and other adjusted positions are indicated in dotted lines. If the bail D should become disengaged from the lantern or should break or slip out of the hand of the fisherman, while the rim F is engaged on the horns 2B, the lantern would swing down to the lower-most position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, but would not fall into the water. As is shown in Fig. 4 the rim F would fulcrum on the horns 20, whereby the bottom G would swing against the lower portion of the head and be supported thereby and as is obvious, the lantern would hang on the bracket.

The bracket is simple and convenient.' It is comparatively small and may be carried in the pocket of the fisherman or in a small compartment in his kit box. The bracket may be readily clamped on the sideboard A or on any other suitable support. While the bracket is primarily designed for night fishing it is not to be limited to such use.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size,'shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, with out departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and. desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A lantern bracket including, a body having a top and a bottom with a depending member and a hanger spaced from the member and depending from the bottom of the body, whereby the body may be engaged over a support with the member and hanger on opposite sides thereof, a screw mounted in the member and coasting with the hanger for securing the body in a fixed position, and a fulcrum member extending outwardly from the hanger having means for engaging under the rim of the bottom of a lantern fulcrumed thereon, the top of the body having spaced projections any of which may receive the bail of a lantern fulcrumed on the fulcrum member for supporting a lantern in a selected inclined position.

2. A lantern bracket as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fulcrum member includes a pair of upstanding oppositely directed horns for engaging under the rim of the bottom of a lantern.

3. A lantern bracket as set forth in claim 1, wherein the upstanding projections are separated by substantially angular slots in which a lantern bail may be engaged.

4. A lantern bracket including, an. upright yoke shaped plate having a'depending shank at one end provided with a sleeve, a hanger depending from the opposite end of the plate and having a shoe on its inner side facing the sleeve, a screw mounted in the sleeve and directed toward the shoe, whereby the plate may be mounted on a support clamped between the screw and shoe, and an outwardly directed foot extending from the outer side of the hanger having an upstanding projection for supporting and fulcruming the base of a lantern, the upper side of the plate having spaced slots any of which may receive the bail of a lantern supported on the foot in a selected inclined position.

5. Alantern bracket including, a yoke shaped body having a depending shank and a depending hanger spaced from the shank, a screw mounted in the shank and directed toward the hanger for clamping a support against the hanger, a fulcrum member'on the outer side or" the hanger having means for engaging under and supporting the rim at the bottom of a lantern,'an'd means at the top of the body shaped to receive and support the bail of a lantern.

THOMAS D. MALLISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 982,762 Blair Jan. 24, 1911 1,189,098 Hall June 27, 1916 2,199,034 Witczak Apr. 30, 1940 2,206,560 Embury July 2, 1940 2,487,645 Gershon Nov. 8, 1949 2,515,428 Scott July 18, 1950 

